Legia Warsaw 0-0 Rangers: All to play for at Ibrox as Steven Gerrard's side draw in Poland

A capacity crowd of 31,000 didn’t witness a goal inside the Polish Army Stadium but this play-off round tie is very much there to be won when Rangers and Legia do it all again next Thursday.

Rangers passed their first two tests in this competition with relative ease and were then impressive winners over Midtjylland last time out, but this was going to be the toughest assignment of the campaign, and the most difficult Gerrard has faced in the qualification stages.

It was one the Gers rose to. In his 21st European tie as boss, Gerrard avoided what would have been only a third defeat as Rangers denied Legia on home soil.

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The challenge is now to finish them off at Ibrox. On the park, it is a feat they are more than capable of achieving and Gerrard will urge his own fans to play their part with group stage football just 90 minutes away.

When Gerrard addressed the importance of the home crowd and the atmosphere they would create here on Wednesday, he expressed his belief that his players would rise to the occasion rather than wilt under the pressure inside this cauldron of noise and colour.

The travelling Gers supporters – around 1,000 of them - had began to filter into the stadium long before kick-off but as the crowd steadily built, the decibel levels rose and rose. Tucked away in the corner, the Rangers fans had plenty to be encouraged about but no chance of being heard.

A banner declaring ‘It’s not what’s in front of you it’s who’s beside you’ was accompanied by flares across the back of the imposing crowd away to the left. The rallying call to the Legia players was just as apt for Gerrard and the men he entrusted with a jersey.

If Rangers were going to head for home with a win to their credit, it was going to take a performance of individual brilliance and collective excellence. It would take the most complete showing the Light Blues have produced this term.

It took until the half-time whistle for the crowd to stop bouncing, the flags to fall and a degree of peace to be brought to a frantic occasion. At that stage, neither Gerrard or Aleksandar Vukovic would have been delighted nor distraught.

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Legia had created the most promising openings but it was Rangers that had largely controlled the possession. Every touch, every pass, was greeted by a chorus of boos and jeers but Rangers, on the whole, were not rash with the ball at their feet.

As Steven Davis looked to control the tempo in the middle of the park, Ryan Jack was busy covering every blade of grass across it. He filled in for James Tavernier when he roamed forward, while his challenges were firm but fair and his ability to turn defence into attack crucial in giving Rangers their central superiority.

Joe Aribo saw less of the ball, but looked a danger whenever he was on it as he attempted to burst forward to add to a Rangers attack that didn’t really do enough to worry Warsaw in the first 45 minutes.

Sheyi Ojo headed wide from a Tavernier ball to the back post and a couple of corners and crosses ultimately came to nothing as Legia, as expected, proved resolute and difficult to breach.

Every forward foray in the opposite direction raised hopes from the home ranks but Allan McGregor proved a match for the efforts Vukovic’s side were able to test him with. It was Luquinhas that that was first to force McGregor into action as he shifted in from the left and curled a shot towards the far corner that was well parried away by the Gers keeper.

His next stop was just as important and even better. A slip from Nikola Katic allowed Cafu a sight of goal on the edge of the area and his shot was powerful but too close to McGregor as Legia’s best chance wasn’t capitalised on.

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Two more were created within minutes of the restart. Valerian Gvilia should have done better when he connected with a Luquinhas cross at the near post and he then turned provider as his corner was header over by Igor Lewczuk. It was a warning for Rangers.

On the hour mark, the same two players combined once again and there was another let off the Light Blues. Gvilia swung in a free-kick from the right and Lewczuk met it six yards out but couldn’t divert the ball on target.

Within seconds, the play was at the other end and Rangers should have scored. Scott Arfield sent Alfredo Morelos clear and the Colombian only had keeper Radoslaw Majecki to beat on the angle but his low shot was well saved.

If the action in the first half had been a little cagey at stop-start at times, that certainly wasn’t the case going into the final 25 minutes or so. It remained goalless – Katic coming close with a header and Aribo seeing a tame effort saved – but the game was there to be won.

Luiquinhas couldn’t find the target after getting in behind Tavernier down the Legia left, while McGregor had to make another smart stop as he got a strong hand on a strike from Marko Vesovic. It was Legia that were looking most likely and Lewczuk was a threat from another set-piece as penalty appeals were waved away after he won another header in the area.

It was the last chance that Legia had and there was no final one for Rangers. Their opportunity will come at Ibrox.